The Second Seven
by Irhaboggles
Summary: The last seven Superfriends remained proud and tall even in the face of death. It was what made them so like the seven heroes still fighting over their heads, the Seven Paragons. The Superfriends back down on Earth, then, were the Second Seven, but as death came out to meet them, they remained just as brave and devoted as their originals.


In the face of an impending doom stood seven figures. They were all that remained of the Superfriends. All of the others had either died on Earth-38 during the first wave of the Crisis, or they died in space trying and failing to stop the second wave. Now, with that nightmarish crimson sky burning bright once more, it became all too clear that the battle had been lost. It was over. The apocalypse had won. All anyone could do now was wait. But while billions and billions of people screamed and cried around them, the last of the Superfriends stood proud and tall. If they had to die, they would not die in terror. They would die with stoic, defiant dignity. It was what made them heroes. And although they did not know it, they almost exactly mirrored seven heroes still fighting up in outer space. The heroes stuck back down on Earth were the second seven, the unofficial mirror image of the original seven paragons: Hope, destiny, courage, truth, honor, love and humanity.

Although she did not know it, the second paragon of hope was Lena Luthor. Even in her darkest hours, she had never truly given up hope that one day she would achieve her goals. No matter how deep into despair she fell, there was always some little spark of hope buried even deeper within her than the despair. After all, there was a reason she still kept a photo of Kara even though she openly disavowed the Girl of Steel. It was hope. Hope for a better life, a better future. Hope for reconciliation. Hope for a world without strife. Even if Non Nocere had been doomed from the start, and a terrible idea to boot, it had been born out of hope. Now Lena stood at the forefront of the surviving heroes, chin raised definitely towards the bloody sky. She knew it was over for her and that she would be dead in half a minute, but she still held out a hope that somehow, things would change for the better. All she had to do was wait, but as a Luthor, she was very good at that.

Then came courage, Alex Danvers, standing right beside Lena Luthor. Although Alex had made many bad choices in the past and although she had been very much motivated by fear, especially in the last few months, a courageous heart still beat within her chest. At the end of the day, she was strong and brave, and nothing could stop her if she really put her mind to it. This was the woman who had climbed to the top of the DEO, faced down countless monsters, aliens and metahumans, and dealt with a superpowered sister all while being completely human herself. And even during the Crisis, she remained courageous, asking Lena for help despite fearing rejection and aiding in the evacuation even though she was now standing on death's door. She did not want to die, but she was ready for it, and she was going to meet the Reaper unafraid. She had spent her whole life standing and fighting, for herself and her world. What was one more battle, even if it was a losing one? She wasn't scared!

Then came destiny, Cat Grant, arguably one of the women to start it all. Not only did she embody destiny in the fact that she was very much a self-made woman, but it had been she who gave Supergirl a name and a start. Even if Alex had been there first, and been Kara's first supporter, Cat was the one who truly let the Girl of Steel stretch out her wings and fly. And her legacy had carried on through her company. CatCo became the place where heroes and villains alike found their start, just as Cat had found her own. It was a place of destiny run by a woman of destiny. Now it was time to face this new destiny and even if it wasn't the one Cat had envisioned (for she had imagined long summer days on Florida beaches, not the end of the world) the maker and receiver of destiny was still ready to face it all. If this was _her_ destiny, then so be it.

Then came truth, in the form of Nia Nal. As a transwoman and an alien, Nia was all too acquainted with the world of truth and lies. Ever since she was little, it had been a constant battle for the truth, a battle of coming out, and figuring out who she truly was inside. And that did not change as the years went by. Then it finally became a question of truth not just to self, but to others. Did she come out? Or did she continue to hide? Well, one day, Nia would find the bravery to tell the world who she was. She was the Dreamer, the one who desired and created a better life, both for herself and others. By uncovering the truths of the world, no matter how uncomfortable, she had changed the world. It was reflected in her job as a journalist alongside Kara, and in the way she had used her powers to help J'onn unlock his memories. Now it was time for Nia to face one last bitter truth, and as a girl who had spent her whole life standing and fighting for truth, she was ready.

Next was James Olsen, who stood as the (second) paragon of honor. Having spent all of his life either as a victim to or fighter against injustice and dishonor, there was no man who understood it better. He was called the Guardian for a reason. He was a protector of the just and righteous. He was a defender of the weak and disadvantaged. He fought alongside the greatest superheroes of all time, including Superman himself, and then he became a champion in his own right. He had certainly earned his unofficial title as the second paragon of honor. Now it was time to face death in the same manner, with a sense of respect and acceptance that coupled with courage and stalwartness. He would meet death and submit to its demands on fair and honest, honorable terms, but he would not meet it as a coward.

And another old friend, Samantha Arias, was love. As a friend and mother, Sam knew all about the gentler aspects of love. But as one also once plagued by a justice-hungry alter ego who was willing to go to great lengths to see that "justice" done, Sam also knew all about the darker and more violent aspects of love. Now those two faces, both the tender and ferocious, combined in her now. She stood by her friends and compatriots as they stared down at death and she, although stalwart and defiant, still felt gentle and affectionate at heart. Despite the fear and anger she and the others were feeling at the unfairness of their demise, Sam also felt an overwhelming warmth, gratitude and love for the people she stood beside and that was exactly what made her the second paragon of love. She was the one supporting the others through this final fight and even though they all knew it was going to be a losing battle, she was the one trying to make it as gentle as possible.

And then lastly was Kelly Olsen, the newest member of the team. But even though she was the newest, she still embodied one of the most powerful paragons of all: the paragon of humanity. She was not the only human of the Superfriends, but she had led a life built upon humanity. She worked with humans, and one of her strongest values was the value of humanity, of mercy and compassion. She embodied humanity through her humility and gentleness. Although she could fight just as fiercely as her compatriots, she had been not born or raised a warrior as the others had. Instead, she had chosen a path of peace and kindness, of caring and healing rather than warring or ruling. She was the essence of what they had been fighting for: life and the propagation thereof. And she was the essence of the thing that was being lost today: the uniqueness of humankind. And with the same grace, trust, good faith and open honesty that she always had, Kelly was now meeting death in the same manner. It was scary, she couldn't deny, but she would still go readily. She would be defiant, yes, but still willing, because that's what made humanity so unique: its balance of both strength and weakness.

So the seven surviving Superfriends met death together, hand in hand. As the wave of anti-matter swept across the last Earth, Earth One, they raised their chins one last time before the cessation reached them and erased them completely from space and time. And although they did not know it, the readiness they were exuding while the world around them trembled and crumbled mirrored the seven heroes who still lived on above their heads. Even if it was unofficial, these seven surviving Superfriends certainly embodied the seven paragons and they, without a doubt, were the second seven. Finally, then, the wave washed over them and the second seven, down to their atoms, were erased. But even though their bodies were gone, what they stood for lived on. And even though the second seven were gone, the first were still very much alive and fighting…

**AN: NGL, I struggled trying to pick just 7 Superfriends to embody the paragons. And a few of them I went back and forth on. I'll just list alternate choices now, but feel free to discuss in the comments and ask why I chose the paragon-people parallels that I did. **

**Lena: Hope, truth, humanity**

**Alex: Courage, honor**

**Cat: Destiny, truth, honor**

**Nia: Truth**

**James: Courage, honor, destiny **

**Sam: Love**

**Kelly: Love, humanity**


End file.
